A-Dish-onal Dishing on Barleymash

Last week, I wrote about barleymash, the bar-restaurant moving into the soon-to-be-vacated Whiskey Girl space on Fifth Avenue and Market Street downtown. Since then, deeper digging has unearthed additional details and a copy of the tentative menu. Barleymash will be open for lunch during the day before converting, as expected, into a dinner and nightlife venue in the evening. Also, the space’s downtown area will be transformed into a posh contempo cocktail lounge called Ginger’s serving Martini-style cocktails to aspiring Carrie Bradshaw types.

On the food front, the menu, as initially reported, will be focused on barley. That most unexpected focal ingredient will be used in dough recipes for pretzels, crackers (served with cheesy ale fondue), burger buns and flatbreads. The last items on that list will be called Barley Pies and be topped with a wide variety of ingredients, the most interesting of which include artisanal cured meats, pork belly and beer braised bratwurst.

The rest of the menu is rounded out by salads, a long list of hearty apps including double-roasted chicken wings in a variety of flavors and a section called “Weekly Dinner,” comprised of homier dishes—casseroles, pasta, prime rib. Two such dishes will be offered each night, making for an interesting differentiator to other such nightlife spots in the Gaslamp. Barleymash will be located at 600 Fifth Avenue.